While sexual harassment is a common experience for college students, we know little about incidences in social work field placements and how prepared students and field instructors are to deal with this issue. In an exploratory survey of 535 students, professor Leila Wood found that only 51 percent of them had received training about sexual […]
@TexasSteveHicks: Ideas, findings, people
Embracing feminism
Former Texas state senator Wendy Davis made the case for embracing feminism and engaging in civic action during the 2017 School of Social Work’s Otis Lecture this past spring semester. Davis recalled that the first time she attended a city council meeting as an advocate she was struck by the scant number of women in […]
Social work without borders
This past spring, clinical professors Robin Smith and Sarah Sloan shared U.S. perspectives on teaching social work practice with colleagues at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile, through Skype sessions. In the summer, they made a week-long trip to Santiago where they met daily with their Chilean colleagues to discuss skill-building lessons in family […]
Restoring Rundberg
A four-year, federally funded project has brought violent and property crime down in north Austin’s Rundberg neighborhood. The project, led by RGK Center Director David Springer, used innovative strategies like targeting crime “hot spots,” police walking beats to improve community-police relations, and community-based efforts to revitalize the neighborhood. School of Social Work faculty and students […]
Social Worker of the Year
The nonprofit Greater Austin Social Workers (GASW) selected clinical professor Sarah Swords as the 2016 Social Worker of the Year. Swords was chosen for her advocacy in geriatrics through her leadership of the GRACE program, her collaboration with the St. David’s Foundation to promote social work as a profession, and her dedication to educating new […]
When survivors turn into advocates
It is estimated that one in three women experience intimate-partner violence in their lifetime. Many women who survive feel called to work in agencies that advocate to end intimate-partner violence and provide service to victims. Researcher Leila Wood conducted in-depth interviews with advocate-survivors to understand how their past experiences of violence affect their advocacy work, […]
Research matters
Master’s student Lindsey Hollmann-Butz realized the importance of research when she found herself in a conference room with a number of executive directors from mental health agencies and representatives from the Texas government. They were all looking at reports that Hollman-Butz had helped prepare at the school’s Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health. The […]
How to increase breast cancer screenings
Patient navigators deployed as part of a state program have proved to be effective in increasing screening rates for breast and cervical cancer among women in rural areas in Texas. The state program combines cancer education through “pink parties” and contact with trained navigators who guide participants through a complex and often fragmented healthcare system, […]
Why should we care about the health of people in Mexico?
The short answer, says Melissa Smith, is that we can learn much from resource-poor communities in the global South to promote the health of people living in poor and minority communities here in the United States. Smith, a family medicine physician and a senior lecturer at the School of Social Work, has developed a six-week […]
Peer support to recover from addictions
Since 2010, Texas has invested in peer recovery coaches to provide long-term support for individuals struggling with addictions. Recovery coaches complete a 46-hour state-approved curriculum and then work with clients under the supervision of community programs. An evaluation from the School of Social Work’s Addiction Research Institute found that, after 12 months, 84 percent of […]
